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Kershaw said he called Harrelson "Deacon" because of his knowledge of the Bible.
Jailer recalls conversations with Woody Harrelson's father
by Christopher Hoffman, SBG San AntonioMon, February 17th 2020, 11:41 AM
SAN ANTONIO - Charles Harrelson cemented his reputation in San Antonio the moment he fired the bullet back in 1979 that gunned down U.S. District Judge John H. Wood in the driveway of his home on his way to work.
A convicted hit man-for-hire whose son, Woody Harrelson, would go on to be a two-time Academy Award winner and star in the series "Cheers," where he would win an Emmy Award.
But for one Houston jailer, he knew another side of this killer.He was just a man called "Deacon."
Retired Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Jim Kershaw worked the night shift at the Harris County Jail from 1980-83 and had many talks with countless "guests" of the jail. Men from all walks of life and accused of all types of crimes. And most of those conversations were not worth remembering, as it was just day-to-day talk while you went through your daily routine inside the jail.
It was his talks with convicted murderer Charles Harrelson that he remembers to this day. Harrelson would be later convicted of the 1979 assassination of Judge Wood in San Antonio.
"We got along pretty good," said Kershaw during a recent telephone interview. "We developed a good relationship, so much so that we had nicknames for each other. He would call me "Boss" and I'd call him "Deacon."
Harrelson was sitting in the Harris County Jail for felony weapons possession in what the guards referred to as "death row," a place where high-risk inmates were isolated from the rest of the jail's general population.
Kershaw was just 21 when he was one of the jailers in charge of keeping watch over the high risk inmates, and that included Harrelson.
His recollections of his conversations and every day dealings with Harrelson are not those you'd associate with a convicted killer, but that of an inmate who talked more about family than he did about past criminal acts.
Kershaw said he called Harrelson "Deacon" because of his knowledge of the Bible.
"He could quote the Bible just like a pastor or a deacon," he said. "He was one of the most well mannered and intelligent person that I ever met in jail. He was extremely knowledgeable in the law and in the Bible. I was always wondering what he was thinking."
Harrelson was in the Harris County Jail after a six-hour cocaine-induced standoff with authorities near Van Horn, Texas in 1980 that led to his arrest on drug and weapons charges.
Harrelson could be a charming and charismatic figure, but he also had a violent streak in him. He had already served five years for the 1968 murder-for-hire killing of Sam Degelia Jr. in McAllen and had been charged and acquitted in the killing of Alan Berg by the time he was in the Harris County Jail.
And even though federal authorities had their eyes on Harrelson for the assassination U.S. District Judge John H. Wood, Kershaw only had limited information on this convicted murderer and had no idea he'd be linked to what the FBI called "the crime of the century.".
"We were told that he was a rumored hit man for organized crime," he said. "He did look like a hitman. I mean nobody bothered him. I knew not to turn my back on him."